The Empire Vape Co Range by Hand Picked Vapes

This is somewhat of a different review today. This is a gift box supplied by Hand picked Vapes of the current complete range of E-liquids from Empire Vape Co. Firstly, we’ll look at Hand picked Vapes and what they do, then we’ll dive into the box and try out the Empire juices.

Hand picked Vapes was born in 2017 and offer bespoke hand-picked E-juice selection boxes. These selections allow vapers to sample several flavours and brands at once, without the hassle of ordering from several different websites, plus knowing they are all recommended by Hand Picked Vapes. I caught up with Charles, one of the owners, last week and asked him about how the company came together and what they offer. Here is what he said.

Who runs Hand Picked Vapes?

We are a couple, Eva and Charles, both of us love great flavours and have a long history of vaping – we had our fair share of DIY mixing and experience with all sorts of tanks and RDAs. We’ve also tried countless e-juice flavours and brands and have found the e-liquid market quite overwhelming. We always felt it a challenge to find the truly worthy products in the torrent of available liquids and flavours – amongst the big brands with the quality products, the small manufacturers with exceptional mixes – and everything in between, from OK to not-so-great.

So how did Hand Picked Vapes start?

The push to start an online shop came in 2017 when, at a London vape expo, we’ve met the guys from Aureum Vape Co. We absolutely loved their e-juices and their enthusiasm and felt like great products like these deserve a wider audience. Our motto became “Vapour Worth Savouring”. We’ve kept our eyes on one goal: to discover, review, test and offer juices and devices that vapers will love and keep coming back to.

What kinds of brands and products are sold at Hand Picked Vapes?

Some of the brands we stock are widely known and respected, such as the DotMod devices or the Black Note tobacco liquids. But we also stock such wonderful, smaller brands such as Aureum, Glorious Potions, Tmax, Baccy Roots, Vape Dodo or Empire Vape that might have slipped under the radar of the average vaper but are well worth trying. We usually offer a wallet-friendly sampler collection too for each brand we carry.

It’s clear to see Charles and Eva are very professional about their business and have a great company. Their gift boxing is a really great idea. You can forget fumbling around trying to wrap bottles of E-liquids as gifts, when they offer gift boxes with great juices. They are presented so well. There is even a gift certificate option so is a great place for gifts! Their delivery is very quick and they offer free postage on orders over £30, with a low flat rate cost for under £30. Go check out the Handpicked Vapes Selections (two new ones coming this Easter) Collections and Brands!

So let’s now look at this E-liquid range from Empire Vape Co….

Empire is ran by Chris, who has a store in Liverpool and now his own juice line. He also runs a popular Youtube channel. This range is in 100ml short-fill bottle with 80ml of E-liquid. There is plenty of room to throw in one or two 10ml Nicotine shots if needed. The bottles are easy squeeze and are supplied with a screw-in capped nozzle head. Note that the illustration of one of the bottles has recently re-branded. ‘Great British Bake Off’ is now known as ‘Dead Mans Arm’. The labels contain a design with the EVC and flavour name. Alongside are printed warnings, the use-by date and the ratio of 70VG/30PG. In the range is Dead Man’s Arm, Killer Custard and Tickled Pink. These are all Custard based flavours.

Dead Mans Arm is described on the Handpicked Vapes website as; Think back to your old school days…..A warm jam roly-poly sponge smothered in creamy vanilla custard! A pleasant variation on the custard theme. This liquid gives you the right amount of sweet jam on the front. Followed by a luscious vanilla custard that doesn’t need introduction by now. Finished with a roly-poly sponge for the complete pudding experience. This is well in my flavour profile so keen to see how this vapes. Smelling from the bottle is a really rich creamy Custard scent, along with a jammy Cake smell alongside.

On vaping, it’s a really moreish Jam Roly Poly and Custard. The Custard is very cream tasting and not overdone with Vanilla flavouring. The jam taste is authentic alongside the sponge flavour, which there is just enough of. It’s a really true to taste mix and definitely a vape that is hard to put down. It is packed with enough sweetness and the Custard is really smooth, blending alongside the other flavours. A traditional English dessert in vape form! It could easily be a good all day vape, as its a very smooth moreish flavour without over-sweetness. An amazing juice that Dessert vapers will adore. A buy-again for sure.

I’m going to assume this is just the Custard as above, but without the other flavours and maybe a bit more stronger as it’s on its own. This Custard won Best overall Juice at the VapeFindr 2017 London Vape Show, and is described on the Hand Picked Vapes website as an old school classic! The best custard you have ever tried……no seriously!! By taking off the cap you start to understand the buzz around this e-juice. It’s a classic, smooth, high quality cream. A careful combination of several layers of vanilla and custard. The smell is grand, but the vape is even better: a truly award winning experience! On smelling from the bottle, it’s the same Custard as Dead Mans Arm. Again, a really creamy rich sweet Custard scent. A lot of Custards are Vanilla- heavy, but this smells heavier on the Cream. It’s a really authentic scent of an Ambrosia type Custard.

On vaping, it’s identical to the scent. A rich and deep cream based Custard, very light on Vanilla and more about the rich cream. It’s a really great take on Custard. I have tasted something very similar a few years ago, in this style of Custard cream flavour. The creaminess of it is really moreish and one of the most authentic real Custard E-liquid flavours. An easy all day vape for Custard lovers, very smooth and rich and not overloaded with sweeteners.

My Score: 9/10 – A true tasting all-about-the-creams Custard vape.

Tickled Pink

To the last in the current range, this is a Strawberry Custard. Again, I’m guessing using the creamy Custard from the other flavours. Tickled Pink is described on the Hand Picked Vapes website as a simple Pink custard that will take you back to your childhood days! A well balanced strawberry custard with just the right amount of fruity flavour. Creamy, pinky, ripe strawberry floating on top of a rich custard cream. The aftertaste will urge you go back for more. Smelling from the bottle is that creamy Custard again with a nice scent of a ripe Strawberry.

On vaping, it’s a very smooth and moreish Strawberry Custard. The Strawberry to me is the leader on the inhale, followed by that rich creamy Custard, which kicks more on the exhale. Its a very well blended juice, the Strawberry isn’t over-sweet and compliments the Custard. It’s a very different tasting E-liquid than the other Pink Custards on the blog, as it’s the different Custard flavour in this that separates these tastes. A very easy all day vape as its not packed with sweetener, and no harshness to the juice.

A really great range from Empire Vape Co, all a solid 9 out of 10. Some of the best tasting juices out there at the moment. You can purchase Empire Vape Co E-liquids via the links throughout the review. It’s definitely a range that need’s trying! Thanks for reading.